Minden Press-Herald

What Minden Press-Herald does

Minden Press-Herald is a privately held, family-owned local newspaper serving Webster Parish, Louisiana, with continuous publication history dating to 1848, when the paper originated as the Minden Iris. The publication operates as the official journal for Webster Parish, the City of Minden, and the Webster Parish School Board, producing a weekly print edition on Wednesdays while publishing daily news online at press-herald.com. Headquartered at 401 Main Street in Minden, the company is owned by the Specht family and operated with a small staff of fewer than ten employees, including editorial, sales, and circulation functions.

The company's product portfolio is built on a WordPress-based digital publishing platform integrated with SimpleCirc for subscription management. Core offerings include digital subscriptions priced at $4.99 monthly or $49.99 annually, a print and digital bundle at $69.99 per year, an E-Edition digital replica, classified advertising ($12 for the first 20 words plus $0.50 per additional word), obituary services ($60 to $210 based on word count with optional photo fees), and public notice placement. Distribution channels include weekly print delivery, the website, an E-Edition portal, email newsletters, and social media on Facebook and Twitter. The Business & Service Directory adds a structured local-advertising surface for SMBs.

Revenue is generated through six streams: digital subscriptions, print subscriptions, display advertising, classified advertising, obituary services, and public notices. The customer base consists of Webster Parish residents seeking local government, school, sports, and community news, alongside small and medium local businesses purchasing advertising and directory listings. Leadership includes David Specht (Owner/President), Randy Brown (VP-Publisher), Joshua Specht (CFO/Editor), Nathan Mills (Sales Manager), Curtis Mays (Advertising Sales), and Amber McDown (Reporter).

Name

Minden Press-Herald

Legal name

Minden Press-Herald

Website

https://press-herald.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

1848

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

1–10 employees

Short description

Minden Press-Herald is a family-owned local newspaper serving Webster Parish, Louisiana since 1848. It publishes weekly print editions and daily online news, generating revenue through subscriptions, display and classified advertising, obituaries, and public notices as the parish's official journal.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Local Newspaper Publishing

NAICS

Newspaper Publishers (513110)

SIC

Newspapers: Publishing Or Publishing & Printing (2711)

akta.pro primary industry

Local & Regional Newspapers (Print & Digital) (MPAJADAB)

Keywords

• Local newspaper publishing
• Community journalism
• Classified advertising services
• Obituary publication
• Public legal notices

Headquarters

HQ city

Minden

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2C

Offering type

Digital Commerce or Content

Cost components

Personnel, Operations

Revenue model

1. Digital Subscriptions: Monthly and annual digital subscriptions providing unlimited access to online articles, daily breaking news alerts, and exclusive digital content.
2. Print Subscriptions: Annual print and digital bundle delivering weekly newspaper to subscriber homes along with unlimited digital access and e-edition.
3. Display Advertising: Local businesses advertise through the newspaper and website, including banner ads and business directory listings.
4. Classified Advertising: Word-count based classified ads for jobs, rentals, services, and yard sales published weekly in print and online.
5. Obituary Services: Word-count based obituary pricing with photo options, serving as a sponsored section for honoring loved ones.
6. Public Notices: Official public notices and legal advertisements for government entities and organizations, including Louisiana Public Notice.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels4 records

Marketing channels4 records

Core offering

Minden Press-Herald publishes a weekly print newspaper every Wednesday and delivers daily online local news coverage at press-herald.com, serving as the official journal for Webster Parish, the City of Minden, and the Webster Parish School Board. The publication sells consumer subscriptions (digital-only and print-plus-digital bundles) and advertising services (classifieds, display ads, business directory, obituaries, and public/legal notices) to local residents and businesses in Webster Parish, Louisiana.

Product overview

Minden Press-Herald is a single-product local newspaper with digital and print editions, offering a comprehensive portfolio of news and advertising services. The core product is the Minden Press-Herald newspaper, published weekly in print every Wednesday with daily online news delivery. The publication also offers supplementary services including E-Edition (digital version), subscription packages (Digital Monthly/Annual and Print+Digital Annual), Classified Ads, Business & Service Directory listings, and Obituaries. All offerings are integrated through the website platform with SimpleCirc for subscription management.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Minden Press-Herald Newspaper The main weekly print newspaper, published every Wednesday and serving as the official journal for Webster Parish, the City of Minden, and the Webster Parish School Board, with daily online news delivery at press-herald.com.
• E-Edition Electronic digital replica of the print newspaper available online for subscribers, allowing digital reading of the weekly print edition.
• Digital Subscription Monthly or annual digital-only subscription providing unlimited access to online articles, daily updates, breaking news alerts, and exclusive digital content for individual readers.
• Print and Digital Subscription Annual print and digital bundle delivering the weekly newspaper to subscriber homes along with unlimited digital access and E-edition access.
• Classified Ads Word-count based classified advertising for jobs, rentals, services, and yard sales, published weekly in print and online for local individuals and businesses.
• Business & Service Directory Featured directory listing service for local businesses and services, providing visibility in print and on the website.
• Obituaries Word-count based obituary publication service with optional photos, serving as a sponsored section for families and individuals honoring loved ones.

Segments2 records

Ideal customer profiles2 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Partnerships

One partnership is on record.

• TG Companies, LLCminorGTM or Marketing PartnerTG Companies, LLC is the presenting sponsor for the Greater Minden Chamber's 15 Under 40 Young Professional Awards, an annual program recognizing emerging community leaders under age 40.

Scale indicators4 records

Recent moves5 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Regional players

• Shreveport-Bossier Journal / Shreveport Times: The Gannett-owned daily newspaper covering the Shreveport-Bossier City metropolitan area, which overlaps with the Minden Press-Herald's Northwest Louisiana regional market. Comparable in local news, advertising, and subscription offerings but serving a larger urban geography.

Broad incumbents

• Ogden Newspapers: A family-owned U.S. newspaper chain operating daily and weekly community papers across more than a dozen states. Comparable as a family-controlled local newspaper operator with subscription, advertising, and public notice revenue, though at much larger geographic diversification.
• Lee Enterprises: A major U.S. local newspaper chain operating daily and weekly publications across 25 states. Highly comparable in subscription + advertising + public notice revenue model, but diversified across many markets rather than concentrated in a single parish.
• Adams Publishing Group: A private U.S. media company owning community newspapers, shoppers, and digital outlets across the Midwest, Mid-Atlantic, and Southeast. Directly comparable in operating small-market community papers and classified-driven local advertising, but at substantially greater scale.
• Community Newspaper Holdings Inc. (CNHI): A U.S. publisher of community newspapers and related digital properties across 23 states. Comparable in serving small and mid-sized U.S. communities with locally focused news and advertising, with similar public notice and classified revenue dynamics.
• Alden Global Capital (MediaNews Group): A major U.S. newspaper operator (including Tribune Publishing) running metropolitan dailies and community publications nationwide. Overlaps in the same product category (subscription, classified, public notice) but serves much larger markets and is owned by a hedge fund, not a family.
• Gannett Co. The largest U.S. local newspaper publisher (USA TODAY network) operating hundreds of community dailies and weeklies nationwide. Comparable in core product (local news, classifieds, public notices, subscriptions) but operates at massive scale with centralized digital infrastructure across all 50 states.

Emerging players

• Patch: A digital-only hyperlocal news network covering thousands of U.S. communities, including towns within the broader Northwest Louisiana region. Comparable as a hyperlocal news and community information source competing for the same local advertising and audience attention, but operates purely online without print.
• Nextdoor: A neighborhood-focused social and local information platform with strong penetration across U.S. suburban and small-town communities including Minden-area geographies. Comparable as a destination for local news, community discussion, and local business advertising, displacing some classified and display ad demand.

Direct peers

• Bossier Press-Tribune: A weekly community newspaper also published by the Specht family serving neighboring Bossier Parish, Louisiana. Directly comparable as a same-family, same-state local weekly newspaper operating on an identical WordPress + SimpleCirc digital stack with shared revenue streams.

Market position

Strengths4 records

Weaknesses3 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• Facebookfacebook.com/mindenph
• Xx.com/mindenph
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/minden-press-herald

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles6 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Minden Press-Herald